Corset.



2 SHEETSSHBET l.

INVENTOR A770RIVEY8 Patented Apr. 15,1913.

I. LACK.

CORSET.

APPLICATION III-ED JUNE 3, 1911.

I 7 4 M, M1

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0..WASH1NOTON. D. cv

'LLAcK.

CORSET.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1911.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA I'LANQGRAI'II cn.,wAsnmri'ruN. uv n ISRAEL LACK, OF BROOKLYN,NEW YORK.

CORSET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15,1913.

Application filed. June 3, 1911. Serial No. 631,075.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ISRAEL LACK, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCorsets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to apparel, and with respect to its more specificfeatures. to a corset having removable stiffening members.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a practical andefficient device of the class described which may be readily washed.

Another object is to provide a device of the class described wherein thestiffening members may be quickly removed or quickly and securely placedin position.

Another object is to provide a simple device of the class describedwhich shall be cheap to manufacture.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein is shown one of various possibleembodiments of the invention,-Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofthe invention; Fig. 2 represents an elevation thereof showing the insideof the corset; Fig. 3 is a'detail view showing the fastening means forthe end steels; Fig. 4: is a detail view showing the fastening means forthe intermediate steels; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view on the line00w of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a detail view showing an end steel and one ofthe removable studs; Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the upper portionof the pockets; and Fig. 8 is a view of a modification of the structureshown in Fig. 2, where theend steels are-provided with fastening meanslike that of the intermediate steels.

Similar reference numerals refer to simiable.

lar parts throughout the various views of the drawings.

In order to render the invention clearer from certain aspects, it is tobe noted that corsets and similar structures are usually discarded aftera given period of wear on account of the fact that their variousstiffening members and fastening means are firmly attached to thestructure and are not remov- On this account it is not feasible to Washthe structure, and hence the necessity for discarding it. The provisionin such a structure of stiffening members which are removable hencesecures greater durability, length of wear and other beneficial results.It must be remembered, however, at the same time that the removablestiffening members should be easily placed in position and se cured, andthat the structure as a whole should provide no disadvantageousfeatures, viewed in comparison with the usual corset structure. That theapplicant provides a device which fulfills the requirements noted abovein a simple, eflicient and practical manner will be apparent byreferring to the structure shown in the drawings.

Generally speaking, the structure shown comprises a body portion 1, endpockets 2 and 3 and intermediate pockets 4. In pockets 2 and 3stiffening members 5 and 6 are, respectively, disposed. Stifieningmembers 7 are disposed in the intermediate pockets 4. In the embodimentshown the pockets are substantially vertically'placed, but it is to beunderstood that their positions may be altered as desired.

The stiffening member or steel 5 which is disposed in the pocket 2 isprovided with fastening means comprising a plurality of projectingmembers, each of which consists of an eye 8 having a keyhole aperture 9therein. In order to permit the eye to move on the steel and to assume aposition lying upon the face thereof, the eye is movably secured to thesteel by means of lugs .10 situated at the inner end thereof which fitin slots 11 in the steel, adapted to receive and guide the motion of thelugs. The lugs are adapted to move laterally in the slots. The slots 11are each provided with lateral offset portions 12 at either end thereof,which are adapted to holdthe lugs in position at either end of the slotsThe stifi'ening member or end steel 6, which is disposed in pocket 3, isprovided with removable fastening means which consists of a plurality ofremovable studs 13 (see Fig. 6), each provided with a shank 14 having aportion thereof screw threaded. The steel is provided with a pluralityof screw threaded bosses 15 arranged at intervals therein. The screwthreaded portion of the shank 14 is adapted to fit and be held by thebosses 15. The stud may be removed from the steel by unscrewing it.

Each of the intermediate steels 7 which is disposed in one of thepockets 4 is provided with an integral retaining means which comprises aspring clasp portion (see Figs. 4 and 5) having an overlapping portion16 and a preferably integral, downwardly projecting finger 17 adapted tocoact with an aperture 18 in the steel and to hold it in operativeposition. The spring clasp portion is preferably formed by stamping outthe finger portion, then bending one end of the steel into overlappingposition so that each lateral edgeof the bent over portion is inalinement with the corresponding edge of the steel below it; thenbending the finger portion downward so that the outer end thereofoccupies a position normally within the aperture 18. It is, of course,to be understood that the finger may be riveted to the spring claspportion or otherwise suitably attached, if desired.

The pocket 2 (see Fig. 3) which serves as a retaining means for thesteel 5 is so formed that it secures the steel and substantiallyprevents lateral movement thereof. An opening or slit 19 is provided atthe top thereof to permit the insertion or withdrawal of the steel. Thepocket also comprises a plurality of laterally disposed openings orslits 20 adapted to receive and hold the fastening means or eyes 8. Itis to be noted that when extended, the eyes will protrude through theslits 20.

The pocket 3 which serves as a retaining means for the steel 6 isprovided with holes 21 (see Fig. 3) through which the studs 13 projectand by which they are held in position. The pocket is provided with anend slit 22 (see Fig. 7) whereby the steel may be withdrawn from thepocket.

The pockets 4 which inclose the intermediate steels 7 are each providedwith a hole 23 through which the projecting finger 17 is adapted to passwhen in position in aperture 18, to thereby hold the steel. Each of theintermediate pockets is provided with an end slit 24 (see Fig. 7) at thetop thereof, adapted to permit the insertion or withdrawal of the steeland through which the lower portion of each steel projects. The pocket,by means of the hole 23, is adapted to grasp and hold the finger 17 ofthe steel.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the eyes 8 are so placed that the distancebetween successive eyes is unequal and increases from top to bottom ofthe corset. This is also true of the lateral slits 20. In like manner,the studs 13 are unequally spaced to correspond with the eyes, and theholes through which the studs project are similarly spaced.

The steels 5 and 6 are adequately held in the pockets provided for themby the structure described, but under some circumstances it ispreferable to provide additional retaining means similar to that used inconnection with the intermediate steels 7. As shown in the modificationin Fig. 8, each of the steels 5 and 6 is provided at the top thereofwith a bent back overlapping portion 25, which is provided with adownwardly projecting finger 26 which in normal position rests in anaperture 27 in the steel. The end steels 5 and 6 in this modificationproject through the slits 19 and 22 respectively, and the finger of eachpasses through a hole 28 in the upper portion of each pocket.

The operation of the device, which should be obvious from the foregoing,is as follows:Assuming that the steels are to be removed from the corsetstructure, the eyes 8 of steel 5 are retracted across the face of thesteel to a position substantially within the bounds of the longitudinaledges thereof and so that the lugs 10 rest in the inner offset portions12 of the slots 11. The steel is then grasped and withdrawn through theslit 19. Steel 6 may be removed from pocket 3 by unscrewing the studs 13and withdrawing them through holes 21. Each of the intermediate steels 7is withdrawn from its pocket 4 through the slit 24 by raising the finger17 of the overlapping portion 16 to a position such that it clears thewalls of hole 23. Then in removing the steel the corset material passesbetween the finger and the main body of the steel.

It will thus be seen that there is herein provided a simple, efficientand practical device wherein the objects of the invention are secured.

It is to be noted when the eyes 8 are in cooperation with the studs 13that, should it be necessary for any reason to unlock these membersother than in the usual manner, which consists in sliding the stud alongthe narrow portion of the keyhole aperture to the wider portion thereof,through which it is withdrawn, the unlocking may be accomplished byunscrewing the stud 13 and thus disengaging the fastening means.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it gs intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a stiffeningmember, a fastening member therefor, connections between the memberspermitting relative movement whereby one member may be set in extendedor retracted position relative to the other, and means permittingarelative movement of said members at an angle to the first mentionedmovement whereby the members will be held from direct relative movementalong the path of the first mentioned movement.

2. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a stiffeningmember, an eye, one of said parts having a slot and the other a portionengaging the slot whereby said parts are connected and permitted to moverelatively to each other, and means comprising a slot in one of saidmembers permitting relative movement of the eye and member at an angleto the first mentioned movement whereby engagement is effected betweenthe member and the eye which restrains direct movement in the firstmentioned slot.

3. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a stiffeningmember having a slot provided with an offset portion, and an eye movablyjoined to said member and having a projection engaging the slot.

4:. In a device of the nature disclosed, in

combination, a stiffening member having parallel slots provided withoffset portions and an eye movably joined to said member and havingprojections engaging said slots.

5. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a corset steelhaving a plurality of parallel slots provided with offset portions ateach end and spaced in pairs along the steel, and a plurality ofrelatively movable eyes, each eye having a pair of headed projectionsengaging the slots whereby they are connected thereto.

6. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a garment havinga pocket, a removable stiffening member adapted to occupy the pocket andhaving an overlapping portion providing a clasp adapted to positivelygrasp the garment, and thereby retain the stiffening member in thepocket.

7. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a stiffeningmember having an overlapping portion and an aperture, the overlappingportion comprising means adapted to enter and leave the aperture.

8. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a stiffeningmember having an overlapping resilient portion and an aperture, theoverlapping portion comprising a finger adapted to register with theaperture.

9. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a pocketprovided with an aperture therein and a stiffening member provided withan over-lapping portion having a projecting finger attached thereto,said finger being adapted to pass through said aperture and thereby holdsaid steel in position.

10. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a steel havingan aperture therein, and an integral spring portion formed by bendingone end of said steel into overlapping position, comprising an integralfinger projecting downward and positioned normally in said aperture.

11. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a steel havingeyes provided with lugs, said steel being provided with slots adapted tofit said lugs, said slots being provided with offset portions adapted toreceive and hold said lugs in a position at either end of said slots,each of said eyes being adapted to assume a retracted position with itsedges substantially within the bounds of the outer edges of said steel,and a pocket provided with lateral slits adapted to permit said eyes toproject therethrough and an end slit adapted to permit said steel to bewithdrawn therethrough when said eyes are in retracted position.

12. In a device of the nature disclosed, in combination, a steel havingeyes adapted to be moved to lie across the face thereof, a spring claspportion attached to said steel having a downwardly projecting finger,and a pocket provided with a'hole in the upper portion thereof, saidfinger being adapted to pass through said hole to thereby retain saidsteel in said pocket.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

ISRAEL LACK.

Witnesses:

J. B. L. ORME, L. A. WA'rsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

